Fig 1.
Examples of tefillin cases with very dark, nearly black grain surfaces: (a): tefillin case no. 4; (b) tefillin case no. 8; (c) tefillin case no. 9; (d) tefillin case no. 11; (e) tefillin case no. 16. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (Photos: Clara Amit).
Fig 2.
Examples of tefillin cases with brown grain surfaces: (a) tefillin case no. 18. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (Photo: Ardon Bar Hama); (b) tefillin case no. 19. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority (Photo: Clara Amit).
Table 1.
List of black-colored tefillin cases.
The column “Multi-spectral imaging” indicates which of the tefillin cases has been photographed using multispectral imaging, including under both full-color and infrared wavelengths. All cases currently held at the Dead Sea Scrolls Conservation Laboratory—Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel.
Table 2.
List of brown-colored tefillin cases.
The column “Multi-spectral imaging” indicates which of the tefillin cases has been photographed using multispectral imaging, including under both full-color and infrared wavelengths. Cases 18 and 19 currently held at the Dead Sea Scrolls Conservation Laboratory—Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel. Case no. 20 currently kept at the Shrine of the Book—Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.
Fig 3.
Fragments from tefillin case no. 1.
Six fragments of leather which had broken off from tefillin case no. 1, collected and subjected to further microscopic, Raman, FTIR, and SEM-EDX analyses. (Photo: Ilit Cohen-Ofri).
Fig 4.
Parchment fragment with ink from Qumran Cave 11 (Box 1010).
Image taken with Dino-Lite microscope (Photo: Yuliya Shmidov).
Fig 5.
Full-color image of tefillin cases nos. 7, 8, 12, and 18.
Photographed using the multi-spectral system for color comparisons. Courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library; Israel Antiquities Authority (Photo: Shai Halevi).
Table 3.
L*a*b* color space values of cases in Fig 5.
n = 5, errors are the standard deviation.
Fig 6.
Photomicrographs of fragments from tefillin case no. 1.
Frags 1, 2, 3, 4 (Photo: Yonah Maor).
Fig 7.
Photomicrographs of fragments from tefillin case no. 1.
Frags 5, 6 (Photo: Yonah Maor).
Fig 8.
Example of near infrared image of Dead Sea Scroll with carbon ink.
4QApocryphon of Jeremiahc (4Q385b), Frag. 16 II; top: full spectrum color image; bottom: near infrared (924 nm) image. Courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library; Israel Antiquities Authority (Photos: Shai Halevi).
Fig 9.
Tefillin case no. 17, cross section of leather.
(A) Black-colored grain surface; (B) lighter-colored layer beneath the grain surface (reticular dermis). Under 83.1× magnification, Dino-Lite microscope (Photo: Theresa Emmerich Kamper).
Fig 10.
Tefillin case no. 11, surface.
(A) Black-colored grain surface; (B) lighter-colored layer beneath the grain surface (reticular dermis). Under 10× magnification, Amscope microscope (Photo: Theresa Emmerich Kamper).
Fig 11.
Examples of tefillin cases under full color light (left) and near infrared (924 nm) light: No anomalous absorbance of near infrared light on areas which appear black under full color light.
(a) Tefillin case no. 1; (b) Tefillin case no. 2; (c) Tefillin case no. 3. Courtesy of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library; Israel Antiquities Authority (Photo: Shai Halevi).
Fig 12.
Qumran Cave 11 parchment fragment: Images taken with the Raman microscope and Raman spectra.
Left (upper and lower images) and center (upper and lower images): images taken with the Raman microscope on the analyzed areas (red circles) where A is the light color analysis area (parchment) and B is the ink analysis location. Right: the Raman Spectra of analysis areas A and B. (Photos: Iddo Pinkas).
Fig 13.
Two fragments broken off from tefillin case no. 1 chosen for Raman analysis.
Images taken with Dino-Lite microscope (Photo: Ilit Cohen Ofri).
Fig 14.
Two fragments broken off from tefillin case no. 1: Images taken with the Raman microscope and Raman spectra.
Left and center: images taken with the Raman microscope on the analyzed areas (red circles) where A is the light color analysis area and B is the black color analysis location. Right: the Raman Spectra of analysis areas A and B. (Photos: Iddo Pinkas).
Fig 15.
FTIR-ATR spectra of dark fragment (Sample 1—Blue) and lighter fragment (Sample 2—Red).
Curve shifted for clarity.
Fig 16.
Fragment 1: Photomicrograph and SEM-BSD images.
Upper left: Photomicrograph showing the same area as shown in color photomicrograph Fig 6. Upper right: SEM-BSD image with red square marking black area and blue square marking brown area. Lower left: SEM-BSD image of red square magnified 2500×. Lower right: SEM-BSD image of blue square magnified 2500×. (Photos: Yonah Maor).
Table 4.
EDX analysis of the areas shown in Fig 16 comparing the brown area (S3, blue square) and black area (S2, red square).
Fig 17.
Fragment 2: Photomicrograph and SEM-BSD images.
Upper left: Photomicrograph of Fragment 2. Upper right: SEM-BSD image with red square marking black area and orange square marking light colored, mineral coated area. Lower left: SEM-BSD image of red square magnified 2500×. Lower right: SEM-BSD image of orange square magnified 2500×. (Photos: Yonah Maor).